Endoscope system with image data correction, processor device, and method for operating endoscope system

Abstract

An endoscope system includes a correction-value calculating unit that calculates a correction value of data to be used for calculation of the biological information or the like; an index-value calculating unit that calculates one type of index value or a plurality of types of index values to be used as a determination reference for determining whether, for example, the correction value is to be calculated; a determination unit that determines, by using the one type of index value or the plurality of types of index values, whether an endoscope image is appropriate for correction; and a correction unit that, if the determination unit determines that the endoscope image is appropriate for correction, corrects the endoscope image, the biological information, or the data by using the correction value calculated by using the endoscope image that has been determined to be appropriate for correction.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An endoscope system comprising a processor configured to:
 acquire a plurality of endoscope images of an observation target captured by an endoscope at different timings; 
 wherein the plurality of endoscope images include a biological-information-calculation image; 
 calculate, by using the biological-information-calculation image, at least one index value; 
 determine by using the at least one index value, whether an endoscope image among the plurality of the endoscope images is appropriate for correction; 
 if the endoscope image is appropriate for correction, acquire a correction-value-calculation image, calculate, by using the correction-value-calculation image, a correction value of data to be used for calculation of biological information, and correct the data to be used for the calculation of the biological information by using the correction value; and 
 if the endoscope image is not appropriate for correction, acquire an other endoscope image among the plurality of endoscope images, calculate at least one index value by using the other endoscope image, and determine whether the other endoscope image is appropriate for correction by using the at least one index value calculated from the other endoscope image. 
 
     
     
       2. The endoscope system according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein, if the processor calculates the at least one index value, the processor determines, for each of the at least one index value, whether the endoscope image is appropriate for correction. 
 
     
     
       3. The endoscope system according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the processor determines whether the endoscope image is appropriate for correction by comparing the at least one index value with a threshold value. 
 
     
     
       4. The endoscope system according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the processor controls an illumination light or irradiation conditions of the illumination light, 
 wherein the processor acquires the plurality of endoscope images with a different illumination light or different irradiation conditions of the illumination light at different image capturing timings. 
 
     
     
       5. The endoscope system according to  claim 1 , comprising:
 a monitor that displays any of an observation image generated by using the endoscope image, a result of determination of the processor, and whether the endoscope image that is appropriate for correction has been acquired. 
 
     
     
       6. The endoscope system according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the processor calculates the at least one index value comprises at least one of an index value of a movement amount of the observation target in the plurality of endoscope images, an index value a movement amount of the observation target in one of the plurality of endoscope images, an index value of brightness, an index value of a pixel value, an index value of presence or absence of an attached matter, or an index value of an amount of the attached matter. 
 
     
     
       7. The endoscope system according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the biological information is an oxygen saturation level. 
 
     
     
       8. A processor device comprising a processor configured to:
 acquire a plurality of endoscope images of an observation target captured by an endoscope at different timings;
 wherein the plurality of endoscope images include a biological-information-calculation image; 
 
 calculate, by using the biological-information-calculation image, at least one index value; 
 determine by using the at least one index value, whether an endoscope image among the plurality of the endoscope images is appropriate for correction; 
 if the endoscope image is appropriate for correction, acquire a correction-value-calculation image, calculate, by using the correction-value-calculation image, a correction value of data to be used for calculation of biological information, and correct the data to be used for the calculation of the biological information by using the correction value; and 
 if the endoscope image is not appropriate for correction, acquire an other endoscope image among the plurality of endoscope images, calculate at least one index value by using the other endoscope image, and determine whether the other endoscope image is appropriate for correction by using the at least one index value calculated from the other endoscope image. 
 
     
     
       9. A method for operating an endoscope system, the method comprising:
 acquiring a plurality of endoscope images of an observation target captured by an endoscope at different timings; 
 wherein the plurality of endoscope images include a biological-information-calculation image; 
 calculating, by using biological-information-calculation image, at least one index value; 
 determining, by using the at least one index value, whether an endoscope image among the plurality of the endoscope images is appropriate for correction; and 
 if the endoscope image is appropriate for correction, acquiring a correction-value-calculation image, calculating, by using the correction-value-calculation image, a correction value of data to be used for calculation of biological information, and correcting the data to be used for the calculation of the biological information by using the correction value; 
 if the endoscope image is not appropriate for correction, acquiring an other endoscope image among the plurality of endoscope images, calculating at least one index value by using the other endoscope image, and determining whether the other endoscope image is appropriate for correction by using the at least one index value calculated from the other endoscope image. 
 
     
     
       10. An endoscope system comprising a processor, configured to:
 acquire a plurality of endoscope images of an observation target captured by an endoscope at different timings; 
 wherein the plurality of endoscope images includes a correction-value-calculation image and a biological-information-calculation image; 
 calculate, by using the correction-value-calculation image, at least one index value; 
 determine, by using the at least one index value, whether an endoscope image among the plurality of endoscope images is appropriate for correction, wherein the endoscope image is appropriate when the at least one index value is within a predetermined range; 
 if the endoscope image is appropriate for correction, stop acquiring the correction-value-calculation image, calculating, by using the correction-value-calculation image, a correction value of data to be used for calculation of biological information, and correct the data to be used for calculation of the biological information by using the correction value; 
 if the endoscope image is not appropriate for correction, acquire an other endoscope image among the plurality of endoscope images, calculate at least one index value by using the other endoscope image, and determine whether the other endoscope image is appropriate for correction by using the at least one index value calculated from the other endoscope image.